It’s been this way since the system launched, and is embarrassingly overdue for a re-haul. The fact that YouTube videos about how to fix party chat exist is pretty solid proof of how bad …

]]>The Xbox One’s party chat sucks.

It’s been this way since the system launched, and is embarrassingly overdue for a re-haul. The fact that YouTube videos about how to fix party chat exist is pretty solid proof of how bad it is.

Not only is the app poorly designed, it hardly ever works the way it’s supposed to. My friends and I are continually greeted by error messages, and have to use the Xbox’s Skype app as a substitute. Microsoft has continually released updates to improve party chat’s functionality, but that’s sort of like slapping a Band Aid on a gaping wound.

It’s hard to believe Microsoft could get party chat so wrong when they nailed it with the 360. It was easy to use, and incredibly reliable. It also served as a major differentiator for Xbox Live over PSN. It made being able to hang out and chat with friends, regardless of what game they were playing, incredibly easy. It was yet another reason why the 360 was the console you chose for online gaming.

Looking at the confusing party chat app on Xbox One, you wonder what Microsoft was thinking. Rather than more patches, I think the current party chat app simply needs to be tossed in the garbage and replaced with something better.

It’s not out of the realm of possibility. Microsoft significantly overhauled the interface of the Xbox 360 multiple times. But the Xbox One has been out for more than a year now, and the fact that party chat is still terrible is just unacceptable.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/02/15/the-xbox-ones-party-chat-is-awful-and-it-needs-to-be-replaced/feed/2xbox-one-headsetmmelnychukI have a bad feeling about DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefronthttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/02/07/i-have-a-bad-feeling-about-dices-star-wars-battlefront/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/02/07/i-have-a-bad-feeling-about-dices-star-wars-battlefront/#commentsSun, 08 Feb 2015 04:49:26 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44638I wish I could say my feelings about DICE’s upcoming resurrection of the Star Wars: Battlefront series were simply due to my own cynicism.

From what I’ve seen online, the internet is ready to name Battlefront game of the year …

]]>I wish I could say my feelings about DICE’s upcoming resurrection of the Star Wars: Battlefront series were simply due to my own cynicism.

From what I’ve seen online, the internet is ready to name Battlefront game of the year for 2015. And yet we haven’t even seen a gameplay trailer for it. I have every confidence DICE can make a worthy entry in the Battlefront series, but whether it will work the day it comes out is another matter.

My skepticism of DICE’s ability to make a properly functioning Battlefront game isn’t based on cynicism. It’s based on DICE’s very shotty track record when it comes to quality control.

Battlefield 4 should, I hope, still be fresh in everyone’s mind. It took months and months of patches to get the game in working order, and even then I still came across plenty of glitches in the game.

Then there’s the issue with the way DICE handles matchmaking and party systems. I’m not a huge fan of server browsers. I’m fine with having them as an option, but the fact that Battlefield has never contained any real matchmaking system (quick match is a joke) makes me worried.

It’s been this way for the past two Battlefield games and DICE has done nothing to fix it. They even removed the squad system from Battlefield 4, and re-inserted it at a later date.

And how could we forget about the networking issues? The ones that finally got patched after Battlefield 4 was out for nearly a year. DICE is the reason I’ve learned as much as I have about the infrastructure online games run on. That’s not really a compliment.

DICE has bad habits it either hasn’t been able to break, or doesn’t care about. So how different will their approach be with Battlefront?

I get the nerd joy that comes with the knowledge that the people who make Battlefield are making the next Battlefront. Battlefront, at its core, was always a Star Wars clone of Battlefield. DICE makes good large-scale shooters, but they also ship those shooters filled with bugs.

I’d love for Battlefront to be a good game, but when I look at the quality DICE has historically delivered, I get concerned. I’m even willing to bet Battlefront will have extensive issues at launch, and its sad how confident I am of that.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/02/07/i-have-a-bad-feeling-about-dices-star-wars-battlefront/feed/0maxresdefaultmmelnychukNo day 1 reviews for Dying Lighthttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/27/no-day-1-reviews-for-dying-light/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/27/no-day-1-reviews-for-dying-light/#commentsWed, 28 Jan 2015 02:29:25 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44569Are you a discerning video game consumer who was hoping to read reviews of Dying Light today to see if it was worth your money? Well you’re out of luck. Also, your local EB Games employee says shame on you …]]>Are you a discerning video game consumer who was hoping to read reviews of Dying Light today to see if it was worth your money? Well you’re out of luck. Also, your local EB Games employee says shame on you for not pre-ordering it.

According to IGN, and many other publications, the games media didn’t get their review copies of Dying Light until yesterday, the day before its release. Yes even IGN, which you could consider one of the largest gaming media outlets, didn’t get a copy.

It’s getting more common for publishers to to be late on supplying media with copies so they can provide readers with a review on release day. Activision pulled this with Destiny, and Ubisoft tried to prevent reviews from being published until noon on the day Assassin’s Creed Unity was released.

When you think about it from the publisher’s perspective, putting the kibosh on day one reviews makes sense. Publishers have kiboshed before, and they will kibosh again.

Game reviewers are a huge risk for the people trying to sell you video games. They might say the video game is bad, and then you might not buy it. So why provide a critic with a review copy and have them potentially crap all over the game you’re trying to sell?

It’s much easier to provide a YouTube personality with a copy and have them sign an agreement not to talk trash about the game, because that does happen.

I enjoy the excitement of buying games on release day, and on Tuesday mornings I’m usually looking for reviews. But those reviews are a liability as far as a games publisher is concerned. It could lead to, God forbid, an informed consumer!

My advice to anyone out there who was interested in Dying Light, or any game released without reviews, is to wait. I know, waiting sucks. But if Dying Light turns out to be a bad game, wouldn’t you prefer finding that out from a review rather than wasting your own money?

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/27/no-day-1-reviews-for-dying-light/feed/0dl_screenshot_pack05_01_28201mmelnychukDragon Age: Inquisition is fun to explore, but not fight inhttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/16/dragon-age-inquisition-is-fun-to-explore-but-not-fight-in/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/16/dragon-age-inquisition-is-fun-to-explore-but-not-fight-in/#commentsFri, 16 Jan 2015 16:08:11 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44514I really wanted to like Dragon Age: Inquisition, and for the first hour or two, I did.

I’ve never played the series before, but you don’t have to have a degree in Dragon Age lore to appreciate BioWare’s latest epic …

]]>I really wanted to like Dragon Age: Inquisition, and for the first hour or two, I did.

I’ve never played the series before, but you don’t have to have a degree in Dragon Age lore to appreciate BioWare’s latest epic fantasy RPG. It’s such a well-realized world. And if you’re the type who gets addicted to chasing down side quests in open-ended RPGs, Inquisition might be a dangerous drug.

Having recently got into Skyrim, I was interested in at least giving Inquisition a try. Unfortunately, the game’s combat just didn’t appeal to me.

I’m quite a selfish player in most games. I like having to only look after myself. And having the responsibility of equipping and ordering around a party of characters isn’t really my thing. I’d usually just charge into battle and then start seeing my friends health bars deplete, then panic.

I also felt like I wanted more direct control over my character, such as being able to dodge attacks. Inquisition doesn’t have the same satisfying flow as other hack and slash RPGs. You simply hold the right trigger down, and continue to do so…

While I’m complaining about the game’s combat being too tactical for my liking, I’m seeing hardcore RPG fans on forums expressing the opposite concerns. Inquisition tries to appeal to both crowds: the tacticians, and the guys like me who just want to smash things.

But Inquisition’s tactical options aren’t all that in-depth, and I’ve seen some players wishing they had more control.

Inquisition is still a really well-made game, but if you don’t want to be bogged down with party management, it might get frustrating. Or maybe that’s your thing, and you might love it.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/16/dragon-age-inquisition-is-fun-to-explore-but-not-fight-in/feed/11377985113-3mmelnychukWatch Nightline’s report on GamerGate, and the women it tried to terrorizehttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/16/watch-nightlines-report-on-gamergate-and-the-women-they-tried-to-terrorize/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/16/watch-nightlines-report-on-gamergate-and-the-women-they-tried-to-terrorize/#commentsFri, 16 Jan 2015 15:46:06 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44509ABC News’ Nightline has done a piece on the harassment women speaking out about sexism in gaming are receiving from the hate mob that is GamerGate. You can watch it below.

It feels like the GamerGate movement has started to …

]]>ABC News’ Nightline has done a piece on the harassment women speaking out about sexism in gaming are receiving from the hate mob that is GamerGate. You can watch it below.

It feels like the GamerGate movement has started to slow down over the past few months. Most of the events ABC covers happened last year, including the threat of a school shooting at a university Anita Sarkeesian was scheduled to speak at.

With so many mainstream news outlets picking up on the stories of harassment, I can’t imagine public opinion will ever sway in favour of the movement.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2015/01/16/watch-nightlines-report-on-gamergate-and-the-women-they-tried-to-terrorize/feed/0AnitaSarkeesianmmelnychukMy most anticipated games for 2015http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/30/my-most-anticipated-games-for-2015/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/30/my-most-anticipated-games-for-2015/#commentsTue, 30 Dec 2014 21:44:04 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44301Let’s be honest, 2014 was not a great year for gaming. There were a lot of letdowns (Destiny, Watch Dogs), and some big games getting delayed into next year. In fact, three of the five games I picked were initially …]]>Let’s be honest, 2014 was not a great year for gaming. There were a lot of letdowns (Destiny, Watch Dogs), and some big games getting delayed into next year. In fact, three of the five games I picked were initially slated for release in 2014. But 2015 sounds like the year when buying a next-gen console will finally be worth the money. There’s about 14 games in total that are on my list for next year, but I’ll try and just put down the ones I’m looking forward to most.

While there’s other games worth mentioning, I chose not to include them for several reasons. First, if the chances of them debuting in 2015 are still hazy. Tom Clancy’s The Division, I’m looking at you. The other is if I feel like I need to learn more about the game before I can get excited, such as seeing gameplay. That’s definitely the case with Star Wars: Battlefront.

Batman: Arkham Knight

After the misstep that was Arkham Origins, Rocksteady Studios is taking back the reins to what is easily the best game series based on a licensed property. Arkham Knight is being made solely for next-gen consoles, a trend becoming more common next year. It’s also finally giving us the chance to drive the batmobile around an open-world Gotham City. Arkham was one of my favourite series last generation, and I can’t wait to see how Rocksteady ends their trilogy.

The Witcher 3

The Action RPG is a genre that’s still new to me. I just played Diablo 3 and Skyrim for the first time this year, and now that I’ve had a taste, I’m extremely excited about Witcher 3.

Witcher 3 appears to have competent sword-play combat, and takes place in the kind of open world where you can end up spending way to much time completing random side quests. Although it’s been delayed multiple times, I have a feeling Witcher 3 is going to be worth the wait.

Halo 5: Guardians

Halo is a franchise I’ve loved since I got an Original Xbox for Christmas when I was 14-years-old. But over the years Halo has lots its crown as the go-to online FPS game among gamers.

Halo 4, which was a decent effort by 343 Industries to maintain the magic of the series after Bungie’s exit, came out the same year as Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. That was high point for the Call of Duty series, and a lower one for Halo. And it showed in the Xbox Live stats.

Little is known about Halo 5’s campaign, because 343 is putting so much focus on trying to lure fans back to the game’s multiplayer. The claim is that Halo is returning to the arena-based gameplay that made it famous, and that map control will matter again thanks to the return of weapon spawns. Halo has to prove all over again that it has a place amongst other top-tier FPS games, and I’m anxiously waiting to see if it can do it.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Uncharted 4 is the reason I will buy a PS4 next year. I’m a big fan of third-person action/adventure games, and it’s a credit to Naughty Dog that I’m looking forward to an Uncharted game more than I am the next Tomb Raider (sorry Microsoft).

The game looked very pretty in the demo shown at PlayStation Experience, but didn’t quite show what will make it different from previous entries. The environment shown looked more open-ended, but it seems to be sticking closely to Uncharted’s combat formula. Although to be honest, I’ve always played Uncharted more for the exploration and adventure.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/30/my-most-anticipated-games-for-2015/feed/1batman-arkham-knight-6-new-screenshotsmmelnychukAttacks on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network are against the consumers, not corporate greedhttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/27/attacks-on-xbox-live-playstation-network-are-against-the-consumers-not-corporate-greed/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/27/attacks-on-xbox-live-playstation-network-are-against-the-consumers-not-corporate-greed/#commentsSat, 27 Dec 2014 22:40:17 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44288The jerks behind the DDoS attacks currently going on against Sony and Microsoft’s online gaming services claim they’re doing it for you.

These would-be Robin Hoods say they’re doing it to expose security flaws in these services. Their arguments couldn’t …

]]>The jerks behind the DDoS attacks currently going on against Sony and Microsoft’s online gaming services claim they’re doing it for you.

These would-be Robin Hoods say they’re doing it to expose security flaws in these services. Their arguments couldn’t be more self-righteous, and wrong.

As the Sky News interviewer smartly pointed out when speaking with one of the hackers, what about the people who spent their money on a gaming console? The hacker was of course, speechless.

I’ve seen a lot of people online regard this as a battle between giant companies and hackers. But that really isn’t the case. They’re in it to hurt you, and for absolutely no good reason.

Microsoft and Sony already made their money this Christmas by selling consoles and subscriptions. And despite these issues, they’ll get over it. The real victims are the players themselves, who won’t get back their lost time.

It’s a sad way to mark the end of an already rough year for online abuse and cowardly actions that we saw repeated in gaming culture again and again. I can only hope that 2015 is a little better.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/27/attacks-on-xbox-live-playstation-network-are-against-the-consumers-not-corporate-greed/feed/0Playstation-4-Review-ConsolemmelnychukSkyrim/Diablo 3 are my favourite games of 2014, Destiny is the biggest letdownhttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/19/skryimdiablo-3-are-my-favourite-games-of-2014-destiny-is-the-biggest-letdown/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/19/skryimdiablo-3-are-my-favourite-games-of-2014-destiny-is-the-biggest-letdown/#commentsFri, 19 Dec 2014 18:48:51 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44265Never mind what that fancy game awards show had to say, I am proud to unveil my best and worst games 2014. Admittedly, neither of my picks for my favourite games of the year made their debut in 2014. But …]]>Never mind what that fancy game awards show had to say, I am proud to unveil my best and worst games 2014. Admittedly, neither of my picks for my favourite games of the year made their debut in 2014. But they were both new to me. Also, the console version of Diablo 3 was released in 2014, so it technically still counts.

Best of 2014

Diablo 3

I picked up Diablo 3 for the Xbox One in September. I had never played a Diablo game before, and I’ve honestly been turned off fantasy RPGs in the past. But Diablo 3 is one of the most accessible and addictive games I’ve ever played. It’s incredibly easy to learn how to play, but there’s a massive amount of depth and end-game leveling for hardcore players to enjoy. I currently have a level 54 crusader I’m working to max out, and I’ve already got a demon hunter lined up to start leveling next.

Skyrim

Again not out in 2014, but new to me. Well, sort of.

I borrowed Skyrim from a friend in 2012, but was overwhelmed by its complexity and intimidated by its difficulty. Skryim doesn’t hold your hand. It kicks you out the door into a massive fantasy world and tells you that you’re on your own. But after lowering the difficulty and taking the time to learn its systems, I grew to love Skyrim.

The character models look a little dated, but surprisingly the open-world environments still hold up.

I’d describe the game as a single player MMO. It’s probably more of an MMO than Destiny is. There’s nearly a limitless amount of quests to embark on. I’ve actually taken a break after finishing the main quest line because I know I could probably just play the game indefinitely. And well, there’s also leveling to be done in Diablo 3.

Worst of 2014 – Destiny

There’s just one game on this list, because no other title in 2014 disappointed me so heartrendingly as Bungie’s purported Borderlands knockoff.

Destiny, which bills itself as a quasi MMORPG, offers a meager amount of content and story compared to other games in the genre. It doesn’t take very long to do all available quests and strikes, and then the player is expected to repeat those missions over and over again in the hopes of scoring particular types of loot. It’s also worth mentioning that Destiny’s loot system is pitiful.

As a Halo fan, I was interested in trying out the competitive multiplayer, but the Crucible also let me down. It’s short on content, and because everyone is using their own gear there’s no sense of a real competitive atmosphere like in other online FPS games.

Destiny’s technical prowess as a shooter is top notch, but there’s little else going on. I think the most impressive thing about Destiny is the player base’s ability to convince itself that it’s having fun.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/19/skryimdiablo-3-are-my-favourite-games-of-2014-destiny-is-the-biggest-letdown/feed/0dragonfightmmelnychukdiabloskyrim-screenshot-5Destiny-PS4-4Far Cry 4’s game-breaking bughttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/03/far-cry-4s-game-breaking-bug/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/03/far-cry-4s-game-breaking-bug/#commentsWed, 03 Dec 2014 18:42:35 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44176Broken and buggy games seem to be a major theme in gaming this fall. And up until Monday, I was safe from the frustrations other players had been experiencing with titles such as Assassin’s Creed Unity and the Master Chief …]]>Broken and buggy games seem to be a major theme in gaming this fall. And up until Monday, I was safe from the frustrations other players had been experiencing with titles such as Assassin’s Creed Unity and the Master Chief collection (I didn’t spend/waste my cash on those ones).

Sadly, I came across a glitch while doing a side mission in Far Cry 4 that broke the game for me. It happened on the third mission for Longinus. It involves heading to a point on the map to trail a target, and once there the mission fails automatically. And that’s where my save is, at the point where the mission fails. Over and over again.

I’m not the first one to run into this bug either. According to Ubisoft’s forums, it appears to be affecting players on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Here’s a video of the glitch someone put on YouTube.

Going through troubleshooting with Ubisoft’s customer support, I was finally told that the only solution to my problem was to start the game from scratch. I was on the third act of Far Cry 4’s story, and had put more than 14 hours into the game. There’s no way I’m doing that.

It’s pretty frustrating to have your progress in a lengthily open world game suddenly cut off. So I’ve shelved the game, and hoped that maybe a patch will come out that will fix my issue.

But this isn’t the way it should be. Players shouldn’t have to deal with this stuff. And it’s definitely made me carefully consider whether I’ll buy the next Far Cry game. In the case of Far Cry 4, I wouldn’t recommend anyone purchase it until Ubisoft gets this fixed.

]]>http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/12/03/far-cry-4s-game-breaking-bug/feed/1Far-Cry-4-1-1280x720mmelnychukFar Cry 4 is a solid, but repetitive entry in the serieshttp://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/11/27/far-cry-4-is-a-solid-but-iterative-entry-in-the-series/
http://blogs.leaderpost.com/2014/11/27/far-cry-4-is-a-solid-but-iterative-entry-in-the-series/#commentsThu, 27 Nov 2014 16:55:00 +0000http://blogs.leaderpost.com/?p=44129Far Cry 4 is like Far Cry 3, but with elephants.

OK, that statement is pretty reductive, but I think it illustrates the sense of deja vu I keep feeling while playing Ubisoft’s latest open-world shooter. Far Cry 4 perfectly …

]]>Far Cry 4 is like Far Cry 3, but with elephants.

OK, that statement is pretty reductive, but I think it illustrates the sense of deja vu I keep feeling while playing Ubisoft’s latest open-world shooter. Far Cry 4 perfectly executes the series’ trademark feel of going to an exotic locale that’s in turmoil. The fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat is steeped with culture, and I’m having a great time exploring it.

The best parts of Far Cry are still the unexpected ones. I’ve just happened to come across cave systems in the ground that I rappelled down into, and had myself scared silly by getting attacked by a yak out of nowhere. But then there’s the parts of Far Cry that aren’t a surprise. The things I’ve done before.

This includes attacking outposts, climbing towers and hunting animals to harvest their skins in order to craft better equipment bags. I quickly fell into the same gameplay pattern I spent hours doing in Far Cry 3. Even the weapons are all pretty much the same.

When looking at the big picture (or world map I guess) Far Cry 4 is different from 3, just in small ways. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes me a little concerned for the future of the series.

One addition I did like, but am not sure if it serves the gameplay, is the gyro copter. Flying makes getting from one location to another easy. However, it kind of takes away the fun of stumbling upon random firefights and packs of wolves that makes Far Cry what it is.

Far Cry 3 was really the first game in the franchise to find a large audience. As a reaction to this, Ubisoft chose to replicate most of the gameplay it introduced in the third game.

I can mostly forgive this strategy once. I’m still having a lot of fun with Far Cry 4.

I’ve made it a rule not to start playing the game before I have to go to bed, because there’s no such thing as a short session. I have an obsessive compulsion to hunt a few more animals, capture just one more outpost and climb one more tower every time I play. And that’s not even including playing the main campaign missions, which I’ve hardly made a dent in.

My only hope is that Far Cry 5, which I think we can safely assume is happening, won’t be yet another duplication of Far Cry 3’s template. But knowing how Ubisoft likes to set up a reliable pattern for its franchises, it wouldn’t surprise me.